Bears GM Ryan Poles: Trading Justin Fields 'one of the harder things I've had to do'

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

When Bears general manager Ryan Poles finally decided what he was going to do with quarterback Justin Fields, he drove to coach Matt Eberflus’ house in Lake Bluff. They called Fields together, on speaker, to tell him he’d been traded to the Steelers.

It was important to the general manager to say goodbye to Fields the right way — and to turn the page to a new quarterback.

Speaking publicly for the first time nine days after the trade, Poles explained his decision Monday the NFL’s annual meetings.

The Bears will draft a quarterback next month — likely USC’s Caleb Williams.

Poles said the Bears chose financial flexibility that comes with a rookie contract; Fields, by contrast, is likely to become a free agent at the end of this season. The Steelers aren’t expected to pick up his $25.7 million fifth-year option for 2025 next month.

Poles said there was a “lot to unpack” when asked why Fields didn’t work out.

“There was a choppy start in his rookie year,” he said. “And when I came in, we had some cleaning up to do, which delayed another year of adding talent and supporting. And then in terms of the game, I feel like he was making strides and improving. … It’s really the timeline and how much runway you have. Because to get a guy up off the ground, you need to support him with as much talent as possible. And then that flips, because it takes so much cap space.”

Trading him was “probably one of the harder things I've had to do,” Poles said.

“Having that conversation with my own son was hard,” he said. “His jersey’s up in his room.”

Poles and Eberflus called Bears veterans before the trade to explain it to them.

They understand that there is a business part to it,” Poles said. “It’s not something that just because you trade someone, you don’t like them, you don’t appreciate them.”